Disegno #37
The cover of Disegno #37, featuring illustrations by Kristina Micotti.
Dancing aluminium, diplomatic children’s parties, DIY lamps and defensive llamas all play a part in our new spring 2024 edition. Disegno #37 launches during Milan Design Week on 16 April, but it is already available to pre-order through our online shop.
‘Soft Power Architecture’, Disegno #37.
Featuring essays, fictions, interviews, roundtables, reports and photo galleries, the new issue explores the sociopolitical implications of different elements of the design process.
Designer Inga Sempé writes fictional notes which describe a man’s relationship to his home as part of the development of her upcoming exhibition at the Triennale Milano, which exhibits design in the context of everyday life.
‘Tangible Action’, Disegno #37.
Sheila Ngọc Phạm delves into the importance of inclusive typography, interviewing designers from across Vietnam and its diaspora who are researching new typefaces that cater for Vietnamese diacritics.
Anniina Koivu looks at the construction of the new Swiss embassy in Algiers, the open floor plan of which merges official and private spaces with the aim of functioning more like a family home than a fortress.
Louise Thurin visits Hamed Bransonka-bra Ouattara’s studio in Ouagadougou where he makes furniture out of scrap material, such as discarded oil drums and salvaged wood.
‘Scraps on Show’, Disegno #37.
Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford examines the philosophy of pet design and the anthropomorphic projection involved in buying animals aesthetic objects.
Lara Champan visits the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, which provides feedback on the ideas behind the Eameses’ work and keeps their legacy alive by interpreting their design ethos in unexpected ways – such as housing a flock of sheep and a llama on the museum’s grounds.
Audrey Natsai Chieza and people from across the world of bio-tech meet with Evi Hall to discuss the economy behind creating a commercial brand that can push the field forwards.
‘Dear Things’, Disegno #37.
Lia Forslund ventures inside the factory of aluminium manufacturer Hydro to learn more about collaborating with designers to construct the first objects made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium.
Silvio Lorusso discusses the emotional value of assembling products yourself with Nitzan Cohen, the founder of DIYR, an initiative which distributes materials and instruction manuals for making consumer electronics.
And we are also proud to share Voices: A Story of Swiss Design, a new publication included in Disegno #37 that was created in collaboration with House of Switzerland Milano to explore Swiss national design identity through a patchwork of reflections from 33 practitioners drawn from across the Swiss design landscape.
Disegno #37 comes out in print on 15 April 2024, and is available to order now.
Disegno #37 includes:
Development
Stories of Use
Inga Sempé imagines the objects left behind when a man goes out and never returns
Johanna Agerman Ross, Inga Sempé and Albrecht Fuchs.
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Objects in Review
A Foldable Canvas
Unosinotra’s riff on Filipino street furniture
Ligaya Salazar and Fabian Frinzel
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Distribution
The Past is The Future
A call for fuller font character sets that support Vietnamese
Sheila Ngọc Phạm
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Opinion
Learning From Failure
Jenny Nordberg leans into glorious glitches
Jenny Nordberg, Evi Hall and Leonhard Rothmoser
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Construction
Soft Power Architecture
An embassy that invites diplomacy to children's birthday parties
Anniina Koivu and Milo Keller
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Material
Tangible Action
Hamed Ouattara salvages oil drums and invests in community
Louise Thurin and Soum Eveline Bonkoungou
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Objects in Review
Fringe Benefits
Sarah Brunnhuber advocates for more fringes, less waste
Helen Gonzalez Brown and Fabian Frinzel
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Opinion
Rhymes With
Under the surface of shipping containers and dazzle camouflage
Tetsuo Mukai and Leonhard Rothmoser
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Philosophy
Für Edward
One man’s pet is another brand's $$$
Oli Stratford and Kristina Micotti
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Disegno x House of Switzerland Milano (insert)
Voices: A Story of Swiss Design
33 perspectives on a country's design scene
Lara Chapman, Evi Hall, Oli Stratford, Matthew Turner and Nicolas Haeni
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Opinion
Seen on Screen
A lingering fart, a song and a Sony television
Lara Chapman and Leonhard Rothmoser
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Objects in Review
A Non-light Light
Behind Bocci’s glowing orb
Oli Stratford and Fabian Frinzel
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Feedback
A Llama and a Legacy
What would Ray and Charles Eames do?
Lara Chapman and Nicholas Walcott
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Economies
At All Scales
Normal Phenomena of Life is challenging the normal phenomena of design
Evi Hall and Kane Hulse
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Objects in Review
From Image to Object
Why it took so long for Jasper Morrison Studio to design a barbecue
Miranda Clow and Fabian Frinzel
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Collaboration
Scraps on Show
Extruding and designing with the world’s first 100 per cent recycled aluminium
Lia Forslund and Alastair Philip Wiper
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Objects in Review
Hanging by Many Threads
Jacob Hashimoto’s journey from sculpture to textile
Rupal Rathore and Fabian Frinzel
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Distribution
Dear things
Nitzan Cohen plots a revolution of the DIY kind
Silvio Lorusso and Gerhardt Kellermann
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Objects in Review
Just My Type
When design studios BNAG and ABC Dinamo began to flirt across disciplines
Ines Glowania and Fabian Frinzel
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Objects in Review
Holding a Dinner Party
Mitre and Mondays gets a handle on handles
Hannah Rashbass and Fabian Frinzel
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End Note
No Randomness
A story of the London plane tree emerges from the shadows
Oscar Lhermitte
Order your copy of Disegno #37 from our online shop. Or why not subscribe?